Analog media encoder chips used in multimedia personal computers (PCs), television (TV) tuner/decoder cards, set-top boxes, and other media devices increasingly expose media decode and encode capabilities to be used for purposes other than media presentation. For example, some TV tuner/decoder cards now expose hardware accelerated transrate functionality (i.e., the decoding of media content encoded in one media format followed by the reencoding of that media content in the same format at a different bit-rate) and transcode functionality (i.e., the decoding of media content encoded in one media format followed by the reencoding of that media content in a second media format). Current applications that take advantage of the transrating/transcoding functionality exposed by these media encoders are generally directed toward file-based transcoding, one file at a time.
Many consumers are integrating formerly independent media presentation systems into a network under central control with the ability to share media files by streaming the media among the various devices connected with the network. Home networks predominantly use wireless technology, which often has unpredictable throughput, causing quality of service issues for media streaming, particularly when high definition or otherwise high bit-rate content is involved. Many of the devices on a home network include hardware tuner/decoder cards. In addition, media networks controlled by a PC acting as a server may use software on the PC to harness the processor or a media card on the PC to perform transcode or transrate functions to change the format or bit-rate of media files stored on the PC.